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Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ Most Important Player, Kemba Makes Tough Shots

By Jerry Stephens

Feb 26, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) guards Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) guards Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Buzz City Beat is the one stop for the latest and greatest news and stories from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.

The Charlotte Hornets attempt to bounce back from a recent loss as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the team’s most important player, Kemba Walker always making contested shots and Greensboro Swarm’s breast cancer awareness jerseys.

Hornets’ Most Important Player

“On New Year’s Eve, the Hornets were 19–14 and the Eastern Conference 4-seed. Since then, Zeller has missed 16 games due to a concussion and a quadriceps contusion. Charlotte has lost 19 of 25 games. Only the Nets have been worse. Yikes! Is Zeller that important? Yes. He makes others better with his rib-shattering screens, hard sprints in transition, and reliable rim protection. Kemba Walker is the Hornets’ best player, but Zeller is their only hope of making the playoffs.” (TheRinger.com)

Kevin O’Connor broke down the most important player for every team in the Eastern Conference for the remainder of the season. These players will shape how the rest of the year goes for their respective teams. Cody Zeller is that player for the Hornets. The crazy thing about Cody is that he isn’t important because of how good he’s been, and he’s been good, but because they’ve missed him as he’s been out with an injury.

The quicker they get him back and the quicker he gets back to form, the quicker Charlotte can possibly turn their season around. Zeller doesn’t put up great numbers but he does every little thing to help make the team better. No one thought he would’ve been this important when the season started but by looking at their record with and without him, it’s clear that he has a big impact.

More from Swarm and Sting

Kemba Doesn’t Care How Close You’re Guarding Him

“The Charlotte Hornets’ All-Star point guard, who is enjoying the best season of his career, is shooting 45 percent from the 3-point stripe when he’s left wide open, with more than six feet between him and the closest defender. Somewhat unbelievably, he’s also shooting an NBA-best 44 percent from 3 when he’s smothered, with less than two feet separating him and the closest defender, according to SportVU, which uses cameras to track movement on the court.” (FiveThirtyEight.com)

In this article, Chris Herring broke down Kemba’s ability to make contested shots. Typically, contested shots are much harder to make but Walker’s three-point shots only go down 1% from wide open shots to closely contested shots. That is pretty incredible as both are pretty high at 45% and 44% respectively.

It’s even more incredible considering that Walker has never shot over 40% from three in any given season during his career. While he has made huge improvements to his outside shot, it only started to show last season. Shooting 40.2% this year, his tireless work has paid off and it doesn’t even matter if you guard him or leave him open either.

Greensboro Swarm Announce Unique Jersey Partnership

“The Greensboro Swarm, the NBA D-League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, today announced the team’s first-ever theme jersey night in partnership with Allegacy Federal Credit Union. For the team’s home game on Saturday, March 4, Swarm players will wear unique pink jerseys in a collaborative effort to raise awareness for breast cancer. Proceeds raised from the auction of the jerseys and throughout the evening will then benefit Susan G. Komen.” (Greensboro.Dleague.nba.com)

Next: Hornets Linked to Brandon Jennings, 'Unlikely' to Pursue

The Greensboro Swarm are going to do something pretty amazing on March 4th. Their pink jerseys aren’t only great looking but they will also help benefit breast cancer awareness. Credit to the Charlotte Hornets’ D-League affiliate and Allegacy Federal Credit Union for partnering and putting this together.

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